Anonymous wrote:Ugg. I've had constant problems with nannies napping my baby too long which then translates to me being up half the night with her!! I've got one word for nannies that nap kids too much or insist on two naps when they only need one - LAZY!

Op, I have an right month old who only gets one 1-1.5 hr nap a day! She usually wakes at 6:30a, naps sometime between 10-12p, bedtime at 7p. It's totally reasonable for a toddler to have 1 nap. I'd try to have your two kids naps overlap an hour or two if possible. But a nanny expecting a 3-4 hr nap time break per day is ridiculous! She either needs to do the nap schedule you ask or I'd start looking for another nanny who will.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why ask for advice if you're not going to take it.
12:03 asked great questions that could help others offer advice but you're unwilling to answer them. If your child is tired and crabby because YOU want and feel they are ready for one nap a day when they aren't and you are forcing the nanny to force the child to take one nap you will lose your nanny. Add to the fact you don't want her advice shows you don't value Her experience. It may be your child but your nanny most likely has more experience that would benefit all of you.

I have 13 month old twins and some days they can both take one 3 hour nap but other days they or one need two naps a day. I trust my nanny to determine if they need one or two naps. You are ask about a break for the nanny and unless you are able to come home and give her a break you need to let her do a sleep schedule that will give her a break.

Knowing how old each child is will help us help you. Also are they siblings or are you in a share? If you're in a share then you, the other parents, and the nanny need to sit down and try and figure out a schedule but go in knowing that your child and their sleep is just as important as the other child's. If you can't work with everyone on a schedule I would look into having your own nanny and ending the share, sending your child to go to daycare or stay home since you seem like you are the only one that knows your child. My children's nanny spends more time with them during the day and I will admit that she knows them better than I do and I hired her for her experience, advice, and because I knew she only does what's in the best interest of my children.

She is ready to take advice on what people do when children have different nap schedules. That's what she asked for, quite specifically. She knows her kid and you don't, and if they are transitioning to one nap, then they are. It's not about whether you think they are ready for it.

Anonymous wrote:Why ask for advice if you're not going to take it.
12:03 asked great questions that could help others offer advice but you're unwilling to answer them. If your child is tired and crabby because YOU want and feel they are ready for one nap a day when they aren't and you are forcing the nanny to force the child to take one nap you will lose your nanny. Add to the fact you don't want her advice shows you don't value Her experience. It may be your child but your nanny most likely has more experience that would benefit all of you.

I have 13 month old twins and some days they can both take one 3 hour nap but other days they or one need two naps a day. I trust my nanny to determine if they need one or two naps. You are ask about a break for the nanny and unless you are able to come home and give her a break you need to let her do a sleep schedule that will give her a break.

Knowing how old each child is will help us help you. Also are they siblings or are you in a share? If you're in a share then you, the other parents, and the nanny need to sit down and try and figure out a schedule but go in knowing that your child and their sleep is just as important as the other child's. If you can't work with everyone on a schedule I would look into having your own nanny and ending the share, sending your child to go to daycare or stay home since you seem like you are the only one that knows your child. My children's nanny spends more time with them during the day and I will admit that she knows them better than I do and I hired her for her experience, advice, and because I knew she only does what's in the best interest of my children.

nannydebsays wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a nanny share and wanting to transition toddler from two naps to one, but our nanny is resisting moving her morning nap later because that puts her out of sync with the other toddler's nap schedule and she won't have any break time. What do others do when they have two kids that don't have the same nap times? What are the reasonable expectations in terms of break time for the nanny? She's had 3-4 hours where they are both napping for months and I can understand why she wouldn't want them out of sync, but I'm grappling with how reasonable it is to try to artificially keep them napping at the same time.

OP, is your child screaming/crying/fussing during one of her naps? Does that happen every single day? If so, then she may be ready to transition. How old is your DD? How long do each of her naps last? When does she go to bed at night?

How about the other child? Does s/he still fall asleep easily for 2 naps?

What are your nanny's hours? Is she working a typical 11+ hour day? If so, I can completely understand her need (not want, but actual NEED) to have the naps synced. Otherwise, if she is a normal human, but the end of the day she will be exhausted and unable to provide the care she wants to provide her charges.

OP doesn't care to answer any questions about her child. She also isn't asking whether her kid should switch or not.
She's also doesn't care what the nanny has to say about it.

If I had 2 kids that didn't have at least one synced nap, I would work very hard to make that happen. Being constantly "on" when caring for kids is exhausting. OP, would you be willing to go non-stop caring for 2 toddlers for as long as you want to require your nanny to do so?

And long amounts of break time are generally standard when kids are under 3 or so, and the younger the kids, the longer the amount of down time. In a share, especially when the share is always at one house, that either means the host family gets to pay a little more and have nanny do kid related chores, or that both families pay the same, and nanny doesn't do laundry. In a single family nanny-care set-up, nanny will generally spend some time during nap doing kid related chores.

If I were your nanny, and your child was truly ready for 1 nap only, I would also ask the other family to let me start "training" their child to go to one nap. I would work for about 2 - 3 weeks re-setting both kids schedules, until your child was napping 1 - 4, and the other child was napping 9 - 10 and 2 - 4.

Good luck!